I shouldn't have said no
by Cancaillerie
Summary: Harry is having second thoughts about saying no to Malfoy's offer for friendship...


Harry was lying in his four-poster bed his first night at Hogwarts and he wasn't sleeping. He was still wide awake with excitement over his new home. But he was also thinking his day over and he couldn't help but thinking what would have happened if the sorting hat had placed him in Slytherin. Would he still be friends with Ron or would he be friends with Malfoy?

Thinking about Malfoy, he kind of began to beat himself up for not being politer to him. He shouldn't have had his prejudice about Slytherins cloud his thoughts. Maybe Draco was haughty like that because he didn't really know how to make friends, or because he was raised that way. Harry had done the one thing he promised himself he would never do: judging a book by his cover. He decided that he would make up for it and give Malfoy the chance he deserved to become a friend or at least talk nicely to him. And he would do it without Ron present, or he would never get to the talking calmly to each other part. He didn't know what started the family feud between those families, but he sure wished the kids wouldn't participate in it. Having enemies on your first day, sure wasn't a good way to start at Hogwarts, right?

So the next morning, before his roommates were awake, he dressed and strolled through to corridors, until he found someone who could tell him where the owlery was. An older looking Hufflepuff showed him the way and he rushed over to Hedwig as soon as he spotted her sitting on one of the perches.

He took some parchment out of his bag and wrote a short note to Malfoy, asking him to stay behind with him if they had a class together that day because he wanted to talk to him alone.

He hoped his schedule would show a class with the Slytherins and that Malfoy would want to talk to him after yesterday's incident.

When they got their class schedules at breakfast, he saw that their last class of the day – double Transfiguration – would be together with the Slytherins.

Harry thouroughly enjoyed his first day of school, every subject seemed so interesting and he realized he wasn't the only one who knew next to nothing about magic. He actually seemed to grab on to some spells faster than some of his classmates who had grown up with magic. And Transfiguration had been awesome: who on earth had a teacher who could turn herself into a cat?!

After that class had ended, he told Ron to go ahead to dinner, because he wanted to ask professor McGonnagall some questions about their homework. Ron, who wasn't someone to leave a chance to get something to eat, shrugged and went ahead.

Harry went out of the classroom and waited in the corridor, to see if Malfoy would come. He didn't have to wait very long, a couple of minutes after him Crabbe and Goyle exited the classroom by themselves.

When Malfoy came out, he looked around the corridor and when he noticed Harry, he beckoned him to follow. He led Harry to an empty classroom nearby, closed the door and told him to get to the point.

Harry explained himself and apologized for his behavior the other day. Draco looked pensively at him and told him he would like to give it another try too, but that he was scared of what his Slytherin friends would think about him having a Gryffindor friend. Harry wasn't really sure about Ron's reaction either. So they decided to keep it secret for now...

They met a couple of times a week in the library – a place neither Crabbe and Goyle nor Ron liked to visit – and after some time they really couldn't tell when exactly they had gone from Potter and Malfoy to Harry and Draco. They did share their secrets with each other and laughed with their teachers' funny habits. They snuck into the kitchen's to get some snacks and wandered the castle after curfew. Which got way easier after Christmas.

Harry also showed Draco the Mirror of Erised, and they told each other about what they saw and how they wanted their futures to turn out. They shared their fears for the future, which became more real after Harry defeated Voldemort and got the Stone.

They also didn't really succeed in keeping their friendship secret for everyone, certainly not when Harry had a clever girl as Hermione in his little group of friends. But open-minded as she was, she didn't have a problem with it and even convinced Ron that Draco wasn't the rebirth of Satan himself.

The older they became, the closer they got, especially after it became clear that Voldemort would come and that if Lucius Malfoy got what he wanted, Draco would have to become a death eater. They supported each other like only true friends would.

In their fifth year, Hermione took Harry aside to talk one night. And when he asked what she wanted to talk about, she said: "Ugh, you boys are all so blind, just kiss him already and we'll all be a lot happier!" Harry's mouth fell open and he didn't really now what to say. He had a longtime crush on his best friend, that was true, but if Hermione noticed, sure Draco would have too. His cheeks red crimson, he told her he couldn't do it, he didn't want to ruin the friendship he an Draco had. " You silly", she said, " haven't you noticed how he looks at you, he wants just the same thing, but is to shy to do anything about it, you are the Gryffindor here!"

So Harry decided to be the bold one for once and he sent an owl message to Draco telling him to meet at the Transfiguration classroom after dinner.

They met and Harry started talking about that this place was were their friendship had started and by how much he liked that he could tell Draco anything. But that he felt there was one thing he couldn't tell him and that he had decided to show him instead.

So he pulled Draco closer and kissed him softly on the lips...

When they pulled apart, Draco sighed and said: "Finally where we belong...:"


End file.
